Top 10 Greatest Empires in History

List of 10 Greatest Empires in History

There might have been many empires which were ruled by various rulers but very few among them have still remained the topic of discussion. These kingdoms not only had well planned governments but also covered vast areas of land with a huge number of populations. Let us go through the given list since it discusses about the top 10 greatest empires in history.

Top Ten Greatest Empires in History

Surf through the list of top ten greatest empires in history which have glorified the pages of time.

1. Roman Empire

Characterized by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean in Europe, Africa and Asia, Roman Empire extended from 476/1453 AD. Many events and civil wars mark the transition from Republic to Empire and reached its zenith under Emperor Trajan. Roman Empire achieved great territorial gains in both, the East and the West and was known to have one of the strongest armies recorded. Roman culture has a special impact on Europe due to its vast terrain and long survival.

2. Mongol Empire

Starting from Central Asia, Mongol Empire stretched through Eastern Europe till Sea of Japan during the 13th and 14th century. The empire emerged from the unification of Mongol and Turkic tribe of Mongolia under the kingship of Genghis Khan and during its peak time it covered an area of 24,000,000 km2 with 100 million population. The Mongol Empire was governed by a code of law devised by Genghis, called Yassa and was tolerant of all major religions.

3. Russian Empire

The Russian Empire survived from the 1721 till the Russian Revolution in 1917. It is one among the greatest empires in history which during 1866 extended from Eastern Europe across Asia and into North America. Russian Orthodox was the official religion of the State while Roman Catholic, Protestant, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism etc were minority groups. St. Petersburg was its capital from 17231-1728 and Moscow was from 1728-1730 before St. Petersburg regaining its position in 1730.

4. British Empire

During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain opened up the European travelling around the globe and in this process established the large British Empire. It contained the powers, dependencies, protectorates, mandate and other territories ruled by United Kingdom. By 1922 the British Empire had a global power over almost one fifth of the world’s population. During the rule, people were quite disappointed with the government and many disputes arose thus the empire was soon brought done like the house of cards.

5. Umayyad Caliphate

Ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, the Umayyad Caliphate was the second among the four major Islamic Caliphates that were established after the marked end of Muhammad. During its height of success it covered more than five million square miles and had its capital at Damascus. The Umayyads established the largest Arab-Muslim state in history which dated from 661-750. Modern Arab nationalism regards the period of the Umayyads as part of the Arab Golden Age since it had the best administration system the world had ever seen.

6. Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire, at its height of power from 16th – 17th century ruled over South-eastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa which contained 29 provinces and numerous other vassal states. With Constantinople as its capital city the empire was at the centre of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries. Ottoman Turkish was the empire’s official language while Sunni Islam was its official religion along with other minority believers like Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Judaism.

7. Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire was an imperial power in the Indian Subcontinent and was ruled by Mughal Emperors who were direct descendents of Genghis Khan. During their glorious phase from late 17th century to early 18th century, the empire extended Bengal in the east to Baluchistan in the west and Kashmir in the north to Kaveri basin in the south along with 110 to 150 million population. Akbar the Great was one of the greatest rulers of this period when India enjoyed much cultural and economic progress.

8. Qing Dynasty

Followed by the Republic of China, the Qing Dynasty was the last royal dynasty to rule over China from 1644 to 1912. The Qing Dynasty was founded by a semi- sedentary people known as the Jurchen and the empire was overthrown following the Xinhai Revolution. During its reign it had the largest territory according to land mass which covered an area of 14.7 million km2 and 32.9% GDP.

9. Akkadian Empire

Dated from 2334 BC to 2154 BC, the Akkadian Empire was an empire centred in the city of Akkad surrounded by Mesopotamia. The empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC with Sumerian as its main religion. Akkadian and Sumerian were the two official languages that were spoken through the length and breadth of 800,000 km2 area.

10. Achaemenid Empire

Also known as the First Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Empire was an Iranian empire in Western Asia during the 6th century BC. The empire was governed by a series of emperors who unified its disparate tribes and nationalities by constructing a complex network of roads. This empire had the extension from the Indus Valley in the east to Macedon on the north eastern border of Greece. It had a monarchy form of government and Zoroastrianism as its religion